Baltimore continues to build this off-season

Posted on March 03, 2014
by Slater Jackson

Photo Credit: ESPN.com

With the news breaking last week that the Ravens had
come to an agreement to keep tight end Dennis Pitta in Baltimore for 5 more
years, it signified that start of the building process. This off-season the
General Manager Ozzie Newsome has been swift in releasing players such as;
Vonta Leach and Jameel McClain whilst extending the contract of Terrell Suggs.
All moves that were made to secure an asset whilst at the same time freeing up
some cap space to give them a chance to resign others.

With the NFL raising the salary cap to $133 Million
the Ravens will have $22 Million in reserve at the start of free agency. A
portion of this will go into resigning key players such as;

- Eugene Monroe

- Daryl Smith

- Arthur Jones

Whilst Monroe and Smith are priorities for the
Ravens they will also want to see if they can match up the money in the fight
for Jones. This may be too rich of a hand for Baltimore to stay in as Jones has
played his way into a big second contract in the NFL. It is for this reason
that the Ravens may see another talented player depart for big money.

What is intriguing is that Baltimore will have more
breathing room than usual this year in free agency. Although historically Ozzie
and co have not made big splashes in free agency, there is a chance they may be
able to bring in an elite talent to immediately fill a need and improve the
roster.

After a tumultuous 8-8 season the Ravens are well on
their way to building another championship team. With such a young group of
core players the Ravens have championship DNA within the locker room and Ozzie
is on the war path, making manoeuvres to return the team to the playoffs.